Platform for above-ground swimming pool



E. SCHATZKI April 7, 1970 PLATFORM FOR ABOVE-GROUND SWIMMING POOL 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 29, 1968 April 7, 1970 E. scHATzKl 3,504,382

PLATFORM FOR ABOVE-GROUND SWIMMING POOL Filed March 29, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. e i

-, FLUID PRESSURE INVENTOR ERICH SCHATZKI ATTORNEYS April 7, 1970 E. scHA'rzKl 3,504,382

PLATFORM FOR ABOVE-GROUND SWIMMING POOL Filed March 29, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 4

32 em 5o HHM..

FIG. 8

ERIOH SCHATZKI ATTORNEYS April 7, 1970 E. scHATzK: 3,504,382

PLATFORM FOR ABOVE-GROUND SWIMMING POOL Filed March 29, 1968 4 Sheets-Shes?l 4 FIG. 9

FIG. 12

4 INVENTOR ERICH SCHATZKI BY s( ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,504,382 PLATFORM FOR ABOVE- ROUND SWIMMING POOL Erich Schatzki, New York, N.Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to P. & F. Pool Products Inc., Great Neck,

N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. Z9, 1968, Ser. No. 717,151 Int. Cl. E04h 3/18 U.S. Cl. 4 172.19 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A platform assembly for use with an above-ground recreational structure such as a swimming pool which is4 formed by a plurality of platform sections each having a pair of rigid tubular members holding a weight-bearing panel therebetween. Coupling means are secured to vertical reinforcing members for the pool wall and the tubular members are in turn secured to these coupling means. The elongated panel is supported between a pair of the tubular members. The platform assembly also can be extended to provide several widths of load bearing panels thereby providing a wider platform area.

This invention relates to above-ground prefabricated recreational structures and more particularly to aboveground swimming pools and platforms.

Of recent date, prefabricated above-ground pools which employ a flexible plastic liner to retain uids have enjoyed acceptance by the public. Various types of pools, including liner-retaining structures with a relatively rigid metallic peripheral frame formed by panels or with a metal material which is vertically rigid but can be rolled into a coil, are known. Presently available commercial pools, however, are lacking in a relatively inexpensive peripheral platform structure that can be assembled and disassembled rapidly and easily but strong enough to be capable of withstanding the stresses induced by the weight of adults and children.

Heretofore, the platforms used around the periphery of above-ground pools have been of the type formed by single pieces of sheet metal which are fastened between adjacent vertical reinforcing members of the pool wall. In general, such platforms have decidedly poor weightsupporting properties and they have a tendency to bend or distort when any substantial `quantity of weight is placed upon them. This has rendered these platforms relatively useless for standing and/ or diving purposes and, in some cases where too much weight is applied, the platforms become somewhat unsafe. Attempts have been made to increase the strength of these prior art platforms by using relatively complex structural shapes and fasteners. While serving in some instances to increase platform strength characteristic somewhat, these attempts have resulted in marked increases in prefabrication costs and assembly time for the platforms.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a prefabricated platform assembly for use with aboveground recreational structures, such as swimming pools.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a platform for a swimming pool which is relatively inexpensive to fabricate, is made up of structural elements possessing relatively high strength-to-weight properties; and which can be assembled with little or no difficulty in a short period of time.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a platform assembly which is suitable 4for use with various types of existing or known pools and which may be secured to these pools after their assembly.

Yet another object of the present invention is to pro- 3,504,382 Patented Apr. 7, 1970 ICC vide a new and improved prefabricated above-ground swimming pool structure including as a feature thereof the platform assembly herein discussed.

Another object of the present invention is to include a platform assembly for use with swimming pools which may be enlarged at the users option and wherein basic structural elements possess building-block properties which facilitate interchangeability of elements as well as enabling the fabricator to offer a line of pools of varying appearance without requiring a relatively large inventory.

The present invention fulfills the aforementioned objects and overcomes limitations and disadvantages of prior art solutions by providing an above-ground prefabricated recreational structural for holding fluid and which is readily disassembled or assembled. In particular, a platform assembly is provided for use with an aboveground pool of the type having a plastic fluid-holding liner which is attached to and confined by a metal wall which defines the overall shape of the pool. Vertical members, or columns, used to reinforce the vertical wall against the pressure of the contained fluid, are spaced from one another around the pool wall. In the present invention, brackets are secured to the vertical columns which include horizontally extending anges at the uppermost portions thereof. These flanges support platform s sections which can be fabricated separately.

The platform formed by the platform sections is disposed above and is secured to the vertical columns and provides a bearing surface on which users of the structure may sit or walk. yEach platform section includes, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, two tubular members or beams which support therebetween a panel. The sections are located on the columns to extend around the periphery of the pool in an end-to-end horizontal relationship.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of specific embodiments of the invention together with the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, and in which FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged top plan view of a portion of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation view taken along the line 3 3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation view taken along the line 4 4 0f FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional elevation view of a portion of the platform of the present invention taken along the line 5 5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of another embodiment of the present invention modified for use as a deck;

FIG. 7 is a view of the deck taken along the line 7 7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view of the deck taken along the line 8 8 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a sectional elevation view of an embodiment of platform of the present invention employing substantially square beam members;

FIG. l0 is a sectional elevation view of an embodiment of platform of the present invention employing elliptical beam members;

FIG. 11 is a sectional elevation view of an embodiment of platform of the present invention employing circular beam members and illustrating a further type of sheet member.

Referring now in more detail to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a top view of an above-ground recreational structure in the form of a pool of substantially circular configuration. A vertically extending peripheral wall 11 is shown schematically in phantom as numeral 11, which defines the pool shape. Wall 11 can be formed of a number of curved, rigid panels which are joined together to form a complete cylinder or a coil of a semi-rigid material whose ends are connected, As described in greater detail below, a plastic liner is held by and located within the wall 11. In use, pool 10 will contain water 12 to a desire depth which depends upon whether the pool will be used for wading or swimming.

A substantially horizontal platform is formed above and around the upper edge of the pool by a plurality of similar platform sections 14. These sections are located adjacent one another in an end-to-end relationship and supported on a vertical column at a -coupling or joining point 19 in a manner to be described in greater detail below. As shown, each platform section 14 has an inner rail 15 and an outer rail 16 which hold a panel member 50 therebetween.

FIG. 1 taken together with FIGS. 2-5 illustrate further details of the platform sections 14 and the means by which two platform sections 14 are fastened to one another and the rigid joints designated 119 in FIG. 1 maintained. Two platform sections 14-1 and 142 are shown, but the fastening arrangements for all of the other sections around the pool are similar since the sections are all alike. The latter, of course, provides for ease and economy of assembly. As shown in FIG. 1, the inner rail 15 is shorter than the outer rail 16 so that the two adjacent sections 14-1 and 14-2 can extend at an angle with respect to one another, in end-to-end relationship, forming a closed polygon around the periphery of the pool wall 11. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the ends 20 of the inner rails 15 and the ends 22 of the outer rails 16 of adjacent sections 14 lie close to each other but are not directly connected to each other.

The two adjacent sections 14-1 and 14-2 ybeing consdered are coupled together by a pair of channel or U- shaped members 24 and 25 (see FIG. 4). The channels 24 and 25 are preferably identical in shape and secured back-to-back to `one another at their respective webs or cross pieces 26 and 27 by conventional fastening devices, such as bolts 28 and nuts 29, or rivets. Threaded bosses 31, which are formed with internal threads adapted to receive the external threads of bolts 32 and 33 respectively, are formed in the bottom of each channel member. In FIG. 4, it is seen that for section 14-1 bolt 32 extends through upper leg 34 of channel-shaped member 24, thereafter through the walls of beam or rail 16 and thence into threaded engagement with threaded boss 31 of member 24. Similarly, for section 14-2, bolt 33 extends through upper leg 34 of channel-shaped member 25, thereafter through the walls of beam member 16 and thence into threaded engagement with threaded boss 31 of member 25.

As is also seen in FIG. 4, the upper leg 34 of each channel member 24 and 25 has a stepped end with a lower step 34a on which the end `of a panel 50 rests. These steps prevent endwise movement of the panels and give an additional support point on each end.

The channel-shaped members 24 and 25, shown to be fastened to each other in FIG. 4 are, in turn, secured to vertically upstanding column member 35 by a bracket 36. A plurality of columns 35, which are illustratively D- shaped, are located around the periphery of the pool wall 11. As described below, the bottom of each column is fastened to a base member at the bottom of the pool. Bracket 36 is of a generally cantilevered shape with double walls (see FIG. 4). The ends of the walls of bracket 36 fit around the outside of a column 35 and are detachably secured thereto by bolts 37, 38 and 39, each of which extends through column 35 and thereafter into threaded engagement with corresponding nuts 40, 41 and 42. Separate nuts and bolts can be used for each wall, if desired. The extending cantilever type walls (see FIG. 3) of bracket 36 are further formed with respective horizontally extending flanges 43 and 44. Bolts 45 extend through the bottom legs 3) of channel members 24 and 25 inwardly of the outer rails 16 and thereafter through the respective flanges 43 and 44, and thence further into engagement with nuts 47 (see FIG. 3). Bolts 48 and nuts 49, located inwardly of inner rails 15, accomplish the same purpose of fastening the channel members 24 and 25 to the bracket 36. In this way, the channel members 24 and 25 holding the beams 15 and 16 of the adjacent platform sections 14-1 and 14-2 are held rigidly to bracket 36 which in turn is fastened to the column 35. It is of course within the scope of the present invention to hape any number of fasteners for specific load conditions.

As mentioned above, each platform section 14 has an intermediate surface sheet or panel 50 extending between the horizontally spaced beam members 15 and 16,-and provide an upper bearing surface suitable for use as a walkway, or the like. Each intermediate panel 50 (see FIGS. 2-5) extends between beam members 15 and 16, and includes a substantially planar upper portion 52 which terminates on either side thereof in depending legs 53 and 54 (see FIGS. 3 and 5), respectively. Legs 53 and 54 are not formed on the ends of the panels 50 so that these ends can rest on the channel Steps 34a. The exact shape of the depending legs 53 and 54 can be varied in order to yield more favorable bearing characteristics against the beam members 15 and 16 as well as yielding greater or lesser stiffness properties. The upper surface may be wrinkled, roughened, or provided with a non-slip surface to enhance the safety of the platform.

In FIG. 3 it is seen that the legs 53 and 54 of the sheet member 50 are of similar construction. Leg 54 is shown as having an angled upper portion 56a, a generally vertical portion 56b and a turned in horizontal portion 56e. Leg 53 has similar portions 55a, 55b and 55C. Angled and vertical portions 55u-55b, 56a-56b of depending legs 53 and 54, respectively bear against the outer periphery of the opposing inner faces of beam members 15 and 16 such that a vertical load applied to upper portion 52 of panel 50 will be transmitted into and absorbed by respective beam members 15 and 16.

As shown in FIGS. 3-5, the beams 15 and 16 are tubular and have a circular cross section. The circular cross section of the beam members is chosen for, among other reasons, the fact that they have equal strength properties in all radial directions. Such tubular members, whether circular or of any other cross section are relatively light, have considerable strength and are simple and economical to produce and fabricate to the desired shapes and lengths, and are stocked by manufacturer or distributors.

All joints 19 heretofore described for two adjacent platform sections 14 may be identical, and include interchangeable components, such that the description already rendered may be considered to apply throughout the pool structure. A cover member 61 which can be of metal, plastic or other similar material, extends over each of joints 19 for the purpose of holding down the ends of the panels 50 by flange legs `61a acting against the steps 34a. The covers 61 also hide the fasteners thereunder from sight, and more importantly protect persons or objects upon the platform from injury likely to be sustained on contact with the edges of the structural elements thereunder. Each cover member 61 is formed with curved ends 62, which conform in contour to the outer periphery of the beams 15 and 16 they engage and extend partially therearound. As shown in FIG. 3, cover member 61 is secured to upper legs 34 of channels 24 and 25 by bolts 63 having flat heads and extending through dimpled apertures 64 in cover 61, and thereafter through legs 34 into threaded engagement with a retaining nut 65 formed with internal threads held on the upper face of the channels 25. Nut 65 can be held by a snap fit or other suitable arrangement.

The pool itself, except for the platform, is of conventional construction. As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom ends of the columns 35 are secured to respective base plates 66. Plates 66 have a substantially flat portion `67 which rests upon the ground or surface supporting the overall pool structure. Each flat portion 67 terminates at its inner end in an upturned flanged portion 68 and, at its outer end, in an edge 69 which is turned back under itself to form an exposed surface free of sharp edges. Each of base plates y66 includes an integral vertical wing 70 through which the bottommost portion 71 of each of column members 35 is secured by bolts 72.

FIG. 3 shows wall member 11 adjacent extending flanges 74 of a generally D-shaped column 35. The bottom of the wall 11 fits into a split rail 73a formed of telescoping curved sections around the complete circular periphery of the pool. The rails 73a rest on the base plates 66 within the flanges 68. A flexible liner 75, usually of vinyl plastic, is secured to the upper edge of the wall 11 and forms the container for the fluid. A plastic strip 73 fits over the upper edge of wall 11 therearound and over the liner edge. The liner rests on the surface of the ground. When the liner is filled with water, fluid hydrostatic pressure is distributed substantially equally over the surface of wall member 11 due to the circular shape of the pool. The columns 35 and their anges 74 provide added support for wall 11 in the event it bulges out at any part due to the water pressure. It should be understood that as many vertical columns 35 can be provided as needed around the pool.

As seen in FIG. 3, the channels 24 and 25 have a cutout portion 73b into which the upper edge of the pool wall and its overlying strip 73 extends. The upper edge of the pool wall 11 fits within the coupling arrangements at these points 73b. This has the effect of lowering the deck structure. As seen, the upper edge of the pool wall 11 lies entirely inward of the inner rail 15 of all of the platform sections 19. The upper edge of the pool wall 11 does not engage the inner rail 15 or the platform panels 50. In general, the upper edge of the pool wall 11 also does not touch either the brackets 36 or the channels 24 and 25 at the cutout area 73b due to the equal distribution of the load on the pool wall.

To assemble the platform, the brackets 36 are secured to the erected columns 35 and the channels 24 and 25 are fastened to the brackets and to each other at one of the junctions. The ends of the beams and 16 of a platform section 14 are inserted into a channel 24 or 25 and then secured to the channel. The assembly of the beams continues in this manner around the pool. A panel 50 is then inserted between the two beams 15 and 1.6 of its respective section and the ends of two adjacent panels are fastened down against and on the step 34a of the channels by a cover member 61. It should be clear that the panel of each platform section is held against downward movement by the curved legs acting against the two beams 15 and 16 and at opposite ends on two steps 34a of a channel by covers 61. The covers keep the ends of the panels from moving upwardly.

In some cases where sidewards deflection of the beams 15 and 16 can be expected due to slantwise pressure on the panels, such as from heavy weights, a bracing arrangement can be used. As best shown in FIG. 5, one or more rods 57, which are actually headed bolts with threaded ends, extend through the walls of each beam 16, thereafter through the vertical part 56h of depending leg 54 of panel 50, thereafter through notches in the vertical portion of depending leg 53 of the panel 50, and thence through the walls of beam member 18. Suitable cap nuts 60 are formed with internal threads and are adapted to fit the external threads on rods 57 such that tightening of the cap nuts 60 secure beam members 15 and 16 together with panel 50 in a condition of desired rigidity. As many of the rods 57 can be provided as desired along the length of a panel section.

FIGS. 6-8 show an optional form of the present invention wherein a segment of pool 10 may include more than one platform section to form a deck. In FIG. 6, four beams 76 forming three platform sections 114 extend between coupling assemblies 77. As shown in FIG, 7, the joint assemblies 77 are composed of channels 78 and 79, respectively, which have their webs 80 abutting and secured together by bolts or rivets. Bolts 81 secure channels 78 and 79 to the beam members 76. Channels 78 and 79, in turn, are secured to one or more upstanding posts 83 by bolts 84 which extend through legs 85 of members 78 and 79 and into nuts 86. The posts 83 are separate supports which rest on the ground. If desired, the inner beam 76, or inner pair of beams can be supported by the pool vertical columns 35 and a pair or more of posts 83 added. In this case a cantilever type bracket such as Abracket 36 is used which has elongated 'walls for resting on the posts 83.

Panels 87 extend between beam members 76 in much the same manner as heretofore described for panels 5U, thereby providing a deck section of a width wider than that of the platform defined by panels 50 of FIGS. l-5. The ends of the panels 87 rest on steps on the channel members and are held down by a cover member 89. If desired a rod (not shown) similar to rod 57 (FIG. 5) can be used to make the structure more rigid. In this case a single rod would extend through all of the beams and legs of the panels. Tubular collars are preferably provided around the rod between each pair of beams to prevent separation of the structure.

It is within the scope of the present invention to provide beam members and panels of varying cross-sectional configuration. FIG. 9 shows a substantially square pair of beam members 89 spaced such that member 90 rests upon upper corners 91 thereof. FIG. l0 shows elliptical beam members 92 disposed such that their major axes run vertically, coincident with the principal direction of load as usually applied to sheet member 93. Beams 89 and 92 will absorb the vertical components of the loads transmitted through sheet members and 93, respectively, with less deection than that induced by the horizontal components of the same loads.

FIG. 1l illustrates yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention in which sheet member 94 has depending legs formed with a concave contour conforming to the concave contour of the outer periphery of beams 95. This prevents lifting of the deck from the beams.

FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of a panel 104 resting on tubular beams 106 which are of a rectangular or square configuration with a flat upper wall. Each panel has an L-shaped lip at its edge which-rests upon the beams flat upper wall. This arrangement provides greater stability for the panel. Fastening members (not shown) or the cover plate can be used to hold the panel 104 to the beams.

While the foregoing invention has been described with respect to a circular pool, it should be understood that the platform arrangement can be used with other shaped pools, e.g., figure-8, dumbell, etc.

The embodiments of the invention particularly disclosed are presented merely as examples of the invention. Other embodiments, forms and modifications of the invention coming within the proper scope of the appended claims will of course readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination an above-ground recreational pool having a peripheral substantial vertical wall barrier, a plurality of substantially vertical supports around the wall barrier adjacent the outside surface thereof, a platform section comprising:

a pair of spaced tubular members,

a load bearing panel section formed of a preformed sheet having a substantially rigid planar center portion extending between a pair of mounting portions which support said panel section between said pair of spaced tubular members, and

means for mounting a said platform section between two of said vertical supports.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein each said mounting portion of a panel section includes a leg depending from the planar center portion and is at an angle therewith, each said leg resting on a respective tubular member.

3. A platform assembly according to claim 1, further comprising coupling means for holding said spaced tubular members and panel section together.

4. A platform assembly as in claim 1, wherein said tubular members have a generally elliptical cross section.

5. A platform assembly as in claim 1, wherein said tubular members have flat sides.

6. An above-ground recreational pool as set forth in claim 1, wherein said mounting means includes a bracket havin-g a generally horizontal support surface mounted on a said post, and means for fastening the ends of a platform section to two said spaced brackets.

7. An above-ground recreational structure as in claim 6, wherein there are a plurality of said platform sections spaced in end-to-end relationship around said wall barrier with the ends of a pair of said sections being suppported by the bracket attached to a given vertical support.

8. An above-ground pool as set forth in claim 6, further comprising a channel member secured to a said bracket on a vertical support, said channel member accepting the beam members of a platform section to -be held thereby, and means for securing said channel member to said bracket.

9. An above-ground recreational pool as set forth in claim 8, wherein said channel members are formed with a cut-out section, the upper edge of said wall barrier being located within said cut-out section.

10. An above-ground pool as set forth in claim 9, wherein said wall barrier is llexible in a direction defining the circumference of the pool.

11. An above-ground lpool as set forth in claim 8 wherein each channel member has an extending wall on which the end of a panel member rests, and means for securing said panel to said extending wall.

12. An above-ground pool as in claim 8, further comprising coupling means fastened to said pair of spaced beams and said panel section to hold the members of the platform section together.

13. An above-ground pool as in claim 1, further comprising a deck structure including at least a pair of spaced vertical support posts spaced outwardly from the wall barrier, a plurality of platform sections and means for mounting said platform sections in a side-by-side relationship to each other on said support posts outwardly from said Wall barrier.

14. A above-ground pool as in claim 7, further comprising a deck structure including at least a pair of spaced vertical support posts spaced outwardly from the wall barrier, a plurality of platform sections and means for mounting said platform sections in a side-by-side relationship to each other on said support posts outwardly from said wall barrier.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,925,175 9/1933 Day 4-17'1 2,842,776 7/ 1958 Zakin 4-172 3,233,251 2./ 1966 Barrera 4---172l 3,280,408 10/1966` Gershman 4-172 3,313,375 4/1967 McMurray l82'-22`2 XR 3,335,430 8/1967 Schwartz et al. 4-172 3,395,407 8/1968 Teschner 4-l72 3,374,861 3/ 1968 Shaver 182-222 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner 

